Monday, March 30, 2009

Bad News for Billy Donovan: Maybe he should have taken the Kentucky job

Florida won a national title in both 2006 and 2007. These successes catapulted Billy Donovan's stock as a head coach. He flirted with the NBA's Orlando Magic two summers ago, and this off-season his name was in the running for the Kentucky job.

But Donovan declined the offer, convinced that Florida was the place for him to be.

Too bad none of his players feel that way.

Last off-season, after failing to reach the NCAA tournament, Donovan lost Marreese Speights to the NBA. During the season, Jai Lucas, the son of Jon Lucas and the brother of former Oklahoma State standout Jon Lucas III, transferred out of Florida looking for more playing time.

Now, it looks like Donovan may lose his most important player. Nick Calathes, the Gator's standout point guard, has declared for the NBA Draft, although he will not sign with an agent.

Calathes may be better served coming back for a season. While he has improved a lot from his freshman year, namely becoming a much better decision maker (although he stills gambles too much, trying to make the huge play both offensively and defensively) and a better shooter across the board, the bottom line is that Calathes still has not shown the ability to defend his position.

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